BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- The official's whistle will
be even more important than usual during football games in the Ohio
Valley Conference (OVC) this Saturday, including Tennessee Tech's
game in Tucker Stadium against Eastern Illinois.

It could even mean the difference between life or death for
someone.

This weekend, and for the entire month of October, the whistles
OVC officials will be blowing will be pink instead of the usual
black ones.

"October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and we wanted to help
call everyone's attention to it," said Todd Dunaway, who has been a
football referee for 12 years.

Tech fans will also be seeing pink Saturday as the game program
inserts at all home events for the balance of October will be
printed on pink pages.

Dunaway, who lives in Memphis and is Director of Retirement Plan
Consulting at Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, LLC, came up with the
suggestion to use the pink whistles.

"I can't take credit for the idea - I believe it's been done in
several places before," he said. "But we wanted to make this
conference-wide and perhaps motivate the member schools to create
additional things."

Dunaway says no one in his family has been touched by cancer, but
he knows how important awareness and early detection are.

"I think we all know someone who has a person close to them that
has been affected by the disease," he said. "When the idea was
mentioned to the other officials, they all jumped on board. We know
this is an important cause."

Obviously, Dunaway's company felt the same way. Lipscomb &
Pitts Insurance and the Lipscomb & Pitts Breakfast Club paid
for the 50 pink whistles.

"If what we're doing motives just one person to get a checkup, it
will be worth the effort," said Dunaway.

Officials also are wearing pink ribbons on the bills of their
caps.

"Over the last three years, a couple of our crews have asked
permission to use pink whistles during October to bring heightened
awareness to the fight against breast cancer," said Jim Jackson,
OVC Coordinator of Football Officiating. "Virtually every member of
our staff has been affected by this disease, and we are pleased to
participate in this campaign. We appreciate Lipscomb &
Pitts for helping us make it happen. We urge all OVC football fans
to donate money for research to find a cure."

The Ohio Valley Conference, which is the nation's eighth oldest
Division I athletic conference, is in its 63rd year of competition
in 2010-11. The OVC is comprised of 11 schools that represent five
states. Member institutions include Austin Peay State University,
Eastern Illinois University, Eastern Kentucky University,
Jacksonville State University, Morehead State University, Murray
State University, Southeast Missouri State University, Southern
Illinois University Edwardsville, Tennessee State University,
Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee
at Martin.

Kickoff Saturday at Tech is a 7 p.m., while the Magic 98.5
Tailgate Park opens at 4 p.m. Tickets for the game are on sale at
the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931)
372-3940. Tickets may also be pruchased online at TTUsports.com or
by clicking here.